Chapter 52: The Letter

Half a month later.

In the woodlands near River Valley Town.

The morning breeze carried traces of chill as it swept past. Oak branches swayed, and the lush green leaves rubbed and collided against each other, producing a soft "rustling" sound.

Leaves drifted down leisurely, fluttering and swaying.

Whoosh—

A dark brown glow suddenly burst forth from somewhere beneath the tree, fleeting in an instant.

Extremely precise!

That falling leaf, floating uncertainly under the influence of invisible air currents, had been spinning in the air just a second ago.

The next second, it was pinned straight onto the rough tree trunk by a smooth yet sharp sword tip.

"Crash!"

The vigorous force transmitted from the sword body made this towering oak tree seem as if it had suffered a heavy blow.

The tree trunk trembled violently, shaking down countless fallen leaves.

Pulling the sword tip forcefully from the tree trunk.

Xia Nan casually flourished the sword and returned the wooden sword to the scabbard on his back.

At this moment, since he had finished his mission and returned to River Valley Town, another fifteen days had passed.

To a certain extent, these days had been almost the most relaxed and pleasant period of time since he had crossed over to this world.

When sleeping, he didn't have to worry about being hit on the head with a wooden club by green-skinned rats that popped out from who knows where.

When walking, he also didn't have to fear suddenly turning into a stone statue.

He ate and drank at the inn every day. While not exactly feasting every meal, it was still far more comfortable than his time in the wilderness.

Of course, after all, he hadn't retired yet.

Xia Nan naturally couldn't slack off completely.

While relaxing body and mind, he was also methodically carrying out the plans he had previously formulated.

First, the scabbard for Qingsong that he had commissioned from the blacksmith was already completed.

Made of rock-carbon steel, it was entirely gray-black, simple and low-key.

While fitting the sword body perfectly, it also effectively concealed its wooden sword material.

Every detail perfectly met the requirements he had previously proposed.

Xia Nan was very satisfied with this.

Worth mentioning was that during this period of adjustment, he had also gained some understanding of this only "blue equipment" piece he possessed.

In terms of sharpness, Qingsong was slightly inferior to the beheading longsword, only at the level of ordinary metal weapons.

Its sturdiness wasn't particularly outstanding either. Although he hadn't tested it at high intensity for fear of damaging the sword body, based on the feeling after using it, it was probably just somewhat better than ordinary standard weapons.

It seemed that the reason Qingsong could reach "blue rare" quality on the attribute panel.

Was obviously because of those two damage modifiers against "undead creatures" and "serpent and scorpion-type enemies."

In other situations, Xia Nan still used the beheading longsword as his primary weapon.

Then, there were those two combat skills.

Uh...

How should he put it.

Although it hadn't reached the point of gaining nothing, the progress was not entirely satisfactory either.

His talent was good, whether in actual combat or combat skill training, this had already been proven.

Forward Thrust and Block and Upward Slash—he got the hang of both combat skills very quickly.

In just half a day, he had firmly grasped the training methods recorded on those thin sheets of paper.

But strangely, unlike the memory of his predecessor practicing Whirlwind Slash, where it had almost become muscle memory, with each move executed as mechanically precise and stable as clockwork.

When training these two combat skills, Xia Nan always felt something was off.

Either the force was too brief, lacking explosive power, or the center of gravity was unstable, causing his body to tremble.

There were new problems with every training session.

The key was that he couldn't find an appropriate method to resolve them.

After finally correcting the original flaws through extensive practice, new problems would emerge, rendering all previous practice useless.

It was like plugging holes—one after another, never ending.

This made Xia Nan suspect whether these two seemingly simple combat skills were actually the kind of "defective goods" circulating in the market.

He wasn't certain.

After all, his predecessor had also practiced day and night for many years before training Whirlwind Slash to near max level.

"Let me practice more diligently for a while," Xia Nan thought to himself. "If it's still like this after some time, I'll try two different ones."

After finishing a morning of training.

Xia Nan didn't return to the inn first, but instead took a detour and wandered over to the Rockhammer blacksmith shop.

"Clang!"

The metal hammer head fell heavily on the red-hot molten steel.

Knotted muscles bulged and flexed, sweat and sparks flew and scattered like starlight.

Hiss—

Dense smoke rose as the red-hot iron was immersed in water, producing a harsh sound.

Not until an entire set of procedures was completed.

Did this burly man finally catch his breath?

"Here?" Looking at Xia Nan, who was watching him from afar by the shelves, Barn casually picked up a cloth to wipe the sweat from his forehead, placed the forging hammer in his hand on the anvil, and said, "Your arm shield should take about seven or eight more days."

"Sorry, I have quite a lot of orders on my end. They're all customers who paid real gold and silver, can't really cut the line."

"It's fine, it's fine. You do your thing, I'm not in a hurry."

He hadn't intended to rush him in the first place.

The other party had told him before that the snake scale arm shield was different from the scabbard—its shape was special, there was no mold, and it needed to be custom-made, so the completion speed might be much slower.

Xia Nan had only come to check on the progress and confirm the timeline.

Now that Barn had given him a rough time frame, he didn't ramble on. After greeting him, he prepared to leave.

Unexpectedly, just before leaving, the other party called out to him again.

"How have you been thinking about the caravan escort mission?"

After gulping down several mouthfuls of clear water, Barn asked:

"We'll be setting out in a few days. If you want to join..."

"Just say the word, and I'll squeeze you in."

"Of course, if you're busy, there's no pressure. It's up to you."

Xia Nan hesitated slightly.

"The day after tomorrow. I'll give you a definite answer the day after tomorrow."

After all these days, the caravan escorts had already been mostly recruited.

Having one more person like him wasn't much, having one less wasn't a problem either.

He didn't intend to deliberately string the other party along.

After all, the most important thing right now was that the half-elf still hadn't sent him a reply.

Xia Nan wasn't sure when the professional that Hai'an had contacted would come to River Valley Town.

Without a precise time, afraid of missing them, he didn't dare to easily leave town.

Now that half a month had passed, if there was still no reply in the next three days, he would simply refuse the caravan escort job and patiently wait in River Valley Town.

This way, he wouldn't delay the caravan's work, and he would only lose out on a few gold coins, which was completely acceptable.

......

Coming out of the blacksmith shop, it was already noon.

Xia Nan returned to the White Sparrow Tavern, planning to first have lunch, take a nap depending on the situation, and then continue training in the afternoon.

Still the classic combination of mushroom soup, stewed meat, and white bread.

But the actual portions of food on the plate were much more than before.

This was what he had paid extra for.

The enhancement of his physical fitness had also increased his appetite.

Taking the white bread, he stuffed a large piece of stewed meat into his mouth. Along with the rich salty-savory flavor, the juice-filled tender meat was easily chewed and swallowed into his stomach, transforming into a faint warm current that provided energy to his robust body.

Although Xia Nan didn't have a clear understanding of his current physical strength.

He could be certain that after absorbing that golden dewdrop, the 3 points of Constitution that had surged up had given his body an all-around enhancement.

Yes, all-around.

Even though the "Strength" and "Agility" on the attribute panel were still at 6 points, reached after maxing out Whirlwind Slash.

He could clearly feel that after returning to town this time, his explosive power and muscle strength had both increased.

Clearly, the various attributes on the golden finger panel were not like those in games, each independent and clearly distinct from one another.

In the real world, the increase of a single attribute point should bring about a more complex change to the entire body.

For example:

If one day Xia Nan's "Strength" attribute suddenly increased by one point, correspondingly, his muscle explosive power would also be enhanced to a certain extent.

And the enhancement of muscle explosive power also meant he could gain more rapid movement speed.

Then to a certain extent, couldn't it also be considered that his "Agility" attribute had been strengthened?

Living in a fantasy world with a medieval-like background, without modern scientific testing, Xia Nan could only vaguely speculate about the changes in his body through his actual experiences.

"Creak."

The crystalline liquid covered with foam swayed gently as the wooden cup was pushed in front of Xia Nan.

"Your ale."

Tavern owner Chapton reminded him.

Xia Nan, chewing food in his mouth, nodded slightly.

"Tap."

A snow-white envelope was pinched by Chapton and tapped on the table, handed over.

"Arrived this morning. Your name is written on it. It's yours, right?"

Xia Nan's eyes immediately lit up as he forced down the food in his mouth.

"Yes, yes."

"Thank you!"

Taking the envelope, his gaze swept across its surface.

There were no extra decorations, only the recipient's address and Xia Nan's name marked in the lower right corner.

The pattern on the sealing wax at the envelope's opening was a kite-shaped shield decorated with silk cloth and tassels.

"Should be the Hai'an family crest?"

Xia Nan speculated inwardly.

Just as he was about to open the envelope, he heard a sudden commotion from the tavern hall nearby.

Frowning, he looked over.

What came into view were two familiar figures.

"Bernie?"

For this drunkard who had almost made him draw his sword when he first returned to town, he had later learned the other party's name through the tavern owner and the customers in the shop.

These past days, he seemed to have run out of drinking money and had gone out with his squad to run missions, nowhere to be seen. Xia Nan had been too lazy to find trouble with him.

Now, he was causing trouble again.

And the object of his dispute, that honest-looking, plainly dressed middle-aged man, also looked somewhat familiar.

"I think on the day I went to the blacksmith to commission the scabbard, we met once."

Xia Nan pondered inwardly.

Before him, the situation escalated.

Perhaps seeing that the other party was a new face in town, Bernie, his face flushed red and reeking of alcohol, leaned in close and said a few words whose specific content was unknown.

That plainly dressed, honest man's expression immediately fell.

But he didn't respond, only buried his head and quickened his eating pace, seemingly unwilling to have a direct conflict with the other party.

Seeing this, Bernie had no intention of restraining himself. On the contrary, his emotions ran high as he loudly chanted some unclean rural colloquialisms.

His nerves numbed by alcohol made him unable to maintain his center of gravity.

Gesticulating wildly, his foot slipped and he fell backward.

His arm instinctively sought support, pressing heavily on the tabletop of the adjacent table.

"Bang!"

Food along with alcohol spilled all over the floor.

Xia Nan instantly withdrew his gaze.

Because he clearly saw that at the instant Bernie overturned the adjacent tavern table.

That lean young man sitting to the side, who had suffered an unprovoked disaster, originally just drinking while watching the excitement.

His figure suddenly distorted, as if teleporting away from his original position.

Not a single drop of the splashing alcohol touched him.

"A professional!"

Xia Nan confirmed inwardly.

Bang—

With twisted limbs, having lost consciousness and fallen into a severely injured comatose state, Bernie was thrown onto the street like a dead pig.

The lean young man quite amiably inquired from the surrounding tavern customers about the name of Bernie's squad, then left a few silver coins and leisurely strolled out of the tavern.

And that plainly honest middle-aged man, after finishing the last bit of food on his plate, also quickened his pace and hurriedly left.

The drunkard had ultimately provoked someone he shouldn't have.

Xia Nan shook his head.

Come to think of it, if Bernie's two teammates hadn't been present that night, he might have dealt with him himself, no need for a professional to take action.

Draining the last bit of ale from his cup.

No longer paying attention to the noisy, boiling tavern hall, he returned to his room and opened the envelope the half-elf had sent him:

"Long time no see, Xia Nan,

First, I must apologize to you for taking so long to reply. It wasn't procrastination, just that family matters were troublesome and I couldn't get away. Not until today did I finally get a brief respite.

Since we parted that day until I wrote this letter, half a month has already passed. I don't know if you're still in River Valley Town now, or if you've already started a new round of adventures.

......

Regarding the commission for a combat skill instructor, I used my family connections and was fortunate enough to contact a senior professional.

He will pass through River Valley Town at the earliest in mid-Lisi (Scorching Sun Month) and will stop briefly. At that time, you can learn combat skills from him.

Detailed information is in the letter's attachment.

No need to reply—I may not receive it. I also wish you an early ascension to professional status.

May the stars shine upon you.

Your friend, Hai'an"

Xia Nan's gaze swept across the end of the letter, over the half-elf's smooth yet measured signature.

He pondered inwardly.

As the other party said, that professional would arrive in River Valley Town at the earliest in mid-Scorching Sun Month.

But right now it was still early Flower Bloom Month.

Referring to this continent's calendar, there was even an entire Tidal Summer Month in between.

More than seventy days.

He had plenty of time.

Honestly, after two consecutive adventures in Mist Forest, that dangerous and high-pressure environment had made Xia Nan feel somewhat resistant deep in his heart.

He didn't want to go back in again for a short time.

Under these circumstances, finding a caravan escort job, taking it easy, and wandering around the neighboring small town for a few days was also a good choice.

Not only could he earn some pocket money to cover daily expenses, but he could also experience the local customs and culture of this world.

And most importantly, the key point that made him change his mind was the bottleneck he had encountered in combat skill training these days.

Thinking back, his predecessor had spent countless days and nights, many years, to train Whirlwind Slash to lv4 (98/100).

Yet he had just crossed over to this world, and in just a few days, filled in those two points of proficiency before max level, the most difficult part.

What was the difference between the two, and what did it signify?

Xia Nan had some vague ideas in his heart.

Taking this opportunity, he planned to verify his speculation.

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